Purpose & sustainability is powering on

This month concluded with possibly the biggest slap down for climate ambition yet - Trump’s damning indictment of climate change as a “con job” and a “scam” at the UN’s General Assembly in New York, to audible gasps from the crowd. And there has been plenty of push back closer to home too; at Reform UK’s party conference earlier this month, delegates voted in favour of a motion calling for the repeal of the 2008 Climate Change Act which established a legally binding framework to reduce greenhouse emissions. 

Reform is having real-world impact on net zero already. Reform-run Kent County Council rescinded its climate emergency declarations, meaning the council no longer needs to factor in net zero ambitions to decision making. And North Northants Council is pushing its net zero target from 2030 to 2050.

Anti-green sentiment is no surprise from the likes Trump and Reform, but it is indicative of broader scepticism and frustration at climate policy, especially in a time of economic stress and when the return on investment is far from being realised. Even net zero zealot, Ed Miliband, is said to be planning a watering down of Labour’s North Sea drilling ban following  mounting pressure from union bosses that net zero risks undermining British industry. 

But setting Trump’s speech in its broader context, there is still huge support for and optimism for climate ambition. Trump’s address at the UN General Assembly took place during Climate Week NYC, and this year’s was reported to be the biggest yet in its 16-year history. With a record-breaking number of events (over 1000 across New York City), unprecedented levels of government participation and the biggest lineup of corporate partners to date - all motivated to make sustainable and prosperous economies, minimise climate risk and build resilience.

A notable difference to previous Climate Weeks was the ramping up of real actionable outputs, with finance implementation a key next step and pragmatic conversations around mitigating risk and ensuring resilience. The event’s ‘Power On’ theme encapsulated this well. Reporting from the ground in NYC, Tim Le Couilliard, Associate Director at SEC Newgate said: “Having been here all week, it certainly feels like climate action is alive and kicking, despite what some global leaders might be saying. Many people have referenced that in Climate Weeks past, the conversations have been around pledges and targets, but now we are into the plans and progress stage. No one is impressed any more about your ambitions, but instead people want to be hearing about ‘where are you now, what have you been doing and where are you going.’”

Elsewhere, this month we saw the Dutch pension fund PFZW, one of the largest in the world, withdrawing substantial mandates from major asset managers BlackRock, Legal & General and AQR Capital Management as it sought to boost its sustainable investment credentials. This strategic shift is indicative of the sustained pressure on pension funds to account for climate risks and make sustainable investment decisions, reflecting a broader trend towards responsible investing.

On a macro-level there is also evidence of an ongoing commitment to net zero. For example, the Net Zero Tracker initiative reported that target-setting is still rising, despite political headwinds. As of September 2025, at least 1,935 entities have net zero (or similar) targets — up from 769 in December 2020. Globally, target-setting is expanding across companies, regions and cities and the number of large, listed US-based companies with net-zero emissions targets has increased by 9% year-on-year, showing a divergence between the private sector and the US government.

There is no doubt the political headwinds for net zero are stronger than ever before. That being said, the undercurrent of ambition and action is powering on, perhaps just in a more understated way.